ALAMO CANNON"It could be observed that a single cannon volley did away with half the company of chasseurs from Toluca..."

José Enrique de la Peña

In the early dawn hours of March 6, 1836, the
Mexican army bravely charged into the face of certain death. It came in
the form of the gunners of the largest artillery contingent west of the
Mississippi. Artillery played a vital role in the Texas Revolution
and its use influenced several pivotal decisions during its course.

The 1835-36 Texas Revolution began as shots were fired over a cannon
that had been given to the town of Gonzales for protection against Indians.
As the rebellion progressed, the Texians were hard pressed to find
ordnance and found it even harder to transport. Subsequently, the
reluctance to abandon such a precious commodity played an important role
in the decision to remain at the Alamo. At Goliad, Fannin's
men may have all died because Fannin was hesitant to abandon his artillery.
At San Jacinto holding on to the "Twin Sisters" cannon played a significant
role in the Mexican defeat.

During this period "cannon" refered to the barrel of the gun.
The entire gun was known as a "piece of ordnance". Cannon were made
of either iron, brass or bronze. These materials became designations
that were used to denote the material of which a cannon was made.
A cannon was classified by the size of the projectile it fired. For
example, a six-pound cannon fired a six-pound ball. In 1830's Texas artillery
fell into one of four classifications:

Guns that fired shot or shell over long distances.

Carronades were shorter barreled, lighter pieces that could fire
at higher elevations. These were used defensively and on ocean going vessels.

Howitzers were short barreled weapons that could be fired at steep
angles or horizontally.

Mortars had short stout barrels that fired an exploding canister
shell. This canister shell could be lobbed over the defensive works
of an enemy.

Guns were mounted on carriages to fitted for a specific duty. These
usually fell into one of three categories.

Garrison carriages were used in permanent locations where weight was not
a factor. These could be made of either wood or iron.

Siege carriages usually made of wood were used to hold heavy siege guns.

Field carriages were light weight wooden carriages designed for mobility.

The cannon of the Alamo were probably mounted on field carriages.
There is some evidence that a few pieces, such as the iron 12 pound gunade,
were mounted on garrison carriages. A gunade appears as a
combination of a cannon and a carronade and was sometime used on merchant
ships of the time to meet insurance requirements. How this particular specimen
ended up 150 miles inland is another of the Alamo's many mysteries.

In 1836, artillery was loaded and fired in a fashion similar to the rifles
and muskets of the day.

First, a pre-measured amount of powder was shoved down the barrel. Wadding
was then stuffed into the barrel and packed on top of the powder before inserting
the chosen projectile. The cannon was then primed by pouring powder into the
touchhole on top of the barrel. Firing was accomplished by touching off the
priming powder with a slowmatch that was held on a long rod called a "linstock".

Projectiles could be solid shot (cannon ball), exploding shell, grape shot,
cannister or even scrap metal such as nails, horse shoes and chains that
had been chopped to pieces. This method turned a cannon into a very
effective scatter gun. The devastation that these jagged pieces of scrap
inflicted must have been terrible and horrifying, unlike anything the Mexican
soldados had faced before.

Based on recent research, we know that they faced 18 cannon of various
sizes consisting of: the famous 18 pounder, one iron 16 pounder,
one iron 12 pound gunnade, one 9" pedrero, two iron 8- pounders, six 6-pounders,
three iron 4- pounders, another 4-pounder of either brass or bronze and
two 3-pounders.

Two small brass and one small iron gun were not used during the battle
and are probably the guns shown lying in the Alamo courtyard on the Labastida
map of the compound.

This would have brought the total number of cannon in the compound to
21. This was the number agreed upon by Santa Anna's report of March
6th 1836 and the sketch made by Juan Sanchez Navarro.

Col. James Neill reported 24 cannon. However, this
number matches if we subtract the three guns sent to Philip Dimmit
at Goliad. Further support for this number is given in the
list of captured arms and equipment compiled by José M. Perez who also
listed 21 guns. Susanna Dickinson, whose reports varied, stated "about
18 cannon were mounted on parapet and in service all the time."

The 9" pedrero fired stone balls that sunk ships and was
used to defend batteries against assault. During the Alamo
siege, it was probably used as a giant howitzer.

Military doctrine of the time assigned six men to each cannon crew.
If Travis had followed this formula nearly half the garrison would
have been assigned to the artillery. A gun could be manned with fewer men
although not as quickly and it is unlikely that anymore than three men
were assigned to a crew. Even with smaller gun crews, this was still a
very large percentage of the available men used to man the artillery.

The accumulation of artillery by the Texian army began with the 6-pound
bronze Gonzales cannon that has erroneously been reported as being buried
on the Gonzales road to Bexar. Statements given by James Neill, Sion R.
Bostick, William T. Austin and longtime Gonzales resident Mrs. D.S.H. Darst
seem to support that the Gonzales cannon arrived at the Alamo. The
famous 18-pounder was probably the last piece to join Col. Neill's artillery
park in the Alamo. Green B. Jameson placed the cannon in the southwest
corner of the compound.

The 18-pounder arrived at Velasco with the New Orleans Grey's aboard
the schooner "Columbus". It was left behind when it they realized
that they had failed to bring any ball ammunition with the gun. It finally
arrived in Bexar after General Cos's surrender in December in time to begin
its part in the Siege.

As with everything associated with the Alamo, the exact
placement and type of artillery pieces is subject to debate. Most
Alamo researchers/authors agree that there were:

3 guns in the chapel mounted on the ramp
1 to 4 guns in the palisades area
1 to 2 guns at the northwest corner
2 to 3 guns on the north wall
2 cannon in the lunette guarding the main gate
2 cannon redoubt facing the main gate
1 cannon in the cattle pen
1 to 2 cannon in the horse corral, firing either over or through
the west wall
1 18-pounder in the southwest corner.

After the siege, the Mexican army retook the Alamo. They began to make
repairs and improve its fortifications until word was received that the army
had been defeated at San Jacinto. At which time the repairs they had made
were razed. At least 13 cannon were spiked and had their cascabals and
trunions broken off before being dumped in the ditches around the compound.
An unknown number of bronze and brass cannon were melted down and an unknown
number were taken back to Mexico successfully putting an end to the Alamo Artillery.